


7teen: Controversy

by Jupiter_Queen



Series: 7teen, Season 1 [6]
Category: 6teen
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 17:38:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16202396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jupiter_Queen/pseuds/Jupiter_Queen
Summary: Episode 6: One blog proves that anything and everything can become controversial at the Galleria. Meanwhile, late-night conversations make for interesting days, and Caitlin's prince breaks her porcelain heart.





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published to Fanfiction.Net in 2012. Revised in 2015.
> 
> Warning: This story contains frequent profanity and some sensual content.

_"Bad mistakes and good intentions"_ — from "Television" by Natalia Kills

* * *

"I heard Duncan's finally gonna hook up with Courtney," Caitlin gossiped. "I really hope they do; they've been flirting since junior year started."

"Tell me about it," Jen said. "When I sat with her at our student council meetings, I just  _knew_  she had it bad by the way she ranted about him."

"Duncan's always checking her out, too. Though, who doesn't?" Jonesy asked.

Nikki rolled her eyes, both at his comment and the topic. She wasn't adversed to  _all_  gossip, she supposed, but some was simply mindless drivel floating through her ears. "We get it—you think her ass is nice—but are we seriously starting our morning like this?"

No one answered.

She pressed her lips into a thin line. "I'll take that as a yes."

Though not completely irritable from her lack of sleep, her eyelids hung heavier every time she blinked, and every second she didn't talk, she yawned. Maybe because she stayed up late talking to Jonesy again. She opened her mouth, yawning. Okay,  _definitely_  because she stayed up late talking to him.

Ever since Friday night, after the gang went roller-skating, the two of them had been engaging in some late-night phone conversations. It all started with a little bit of boredom and restlessness, ending up in a conversation she didn't want to leave. She had called around midnight to remind him how much she would "kick his ass" the next time they roller-skated together, but by the time they'd neared the end of their conversation, it was two o'clock in the morning. Some jokes, flirting, and general outspokenness was all it took for it to become a new occurrence.

But Nikki wasn't up for sharing any of that with her friends at the moment. It would snowball into  _another_  hot topic she wouldn't be able to divert their attention from.

* * *

So this was a thing now, a habit now—Sydni walking through the food court to find the table where her new friends usually sat. It didn't hit her until now that it was a recurring thing and it would be for a long while (hopefully), when she realized she had news to tell them.  _Her ne_ _w friends._

It might come as good news. Or average news. Or bad news. The gang probably wouldn't react badly, right? Maybe she was overthinking it (like she tended to), probably because this was the first time in a long time she felt strongly about doing something  _she_  wanted to do. The first time since what took place in March. Reeling from the word  _March_  alone, she took a deep breath (which didn't keep her heart from pounding).

Was she apprehensive? She was somewhere between tense and nervous, but she wouldn't say  _a_ _pprehensive_.

With a black messenger bag draped across her shoulders, she approached the gang, already engaged in a conversation regarding someone's Instagram page.

"That was the best selfie in Instagram history," she heard Caitlin say.

Jonesy began to say, " _Yeah,_ it was! That girl had a nice—" but Nikki gave him a menacing glare. He sheepishly smiled. "Never mind."

Jen, after grinning at the trouble Jonesy inadvertently landed himself in, was the first to notice Sydni had showed up. "Hi, Sydni."

"Hey, Jen." Noticing the original conversation had been fizzling out as she sat down, she grabbed her chance to speak as she took her laptop out of her bag. "So, I have some news"— _good, bad, or average?—_ "I've decided to make my own tumblr." She opened her laptop and pulled up her blog. It had a minimalistic theme with a centered header which read  _Mall Talk_.

"Bo-ring," Jonesy interjected.

She shot him a scowl. "I  _know_  this. I was gonna explain before you interrupted." She bit her lower lip. "I haven't exactly decided what I wanted it to be about, but I've been interested in writing for a really,  _really_  long time. I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions."

Caitlin beamed, saying, "First of all, I  _love_  that name. It sounds like it could be the name of a magazine. Ooh! Something like  _Mall Talk Monthl_ _y_!"

Jen moved past Caitlin's comment and said, "I think introspective pieces work well."

Nikki agreed with her, what with working on her journalism skills for travel writing. "Jen's right. I write that kind of stuff every now and then."

"Well, you're both wrong," Jonesy said. "Write about  _interesting_  things, not intro-whatever stuff. Write stuff people think is juicy."

Nikki raised an eyebrow. "So what you're saying is, 'Write sleazy tabloid shit'?"

"Yep," he said, devoid of shame.

"I'm with Jonesy on this. One well-written article of gossip can become the article to end all articles." Caitlin placed an entire stack of fashion magazines onto the Lemon's counter for further proof. "I rest my case."

Wyatt took a sip of his coffee. "I have to say, she always comes prepared."

Already analyzing their suggestions, Sydni said, "Thanks for the input, guys. I'll definitely consider what you guys said when I'm writing."

* * *

Forcing herself to write seemed like a good idea when she first thought about it, only it made things about  _ten million_   _times_  worse. Over and over again, she typed bad topic ideas and summaries, scrapping them all after a while. Then again, no one ever said it would be easy.

After almost an hour of this, she hastily closed her laptop and shoved it into her bag, wanting to leave the fountain area for a while. As soon as she looked up, however, she became blindsided by someone crashing into her. She flew off the bench, lucky to have hit the tile floor instead of landing in the fountain. Getting up, she rubbed her head in hopes she didn't have a concussion.

_Gravity has a hit on me. I just know it_.

Once she got herself off the ground, she heard someone call out, "I need a little help, dudette."

She walked behind an adjacent bench to find Jude sprawled on the ground. Immediately, she helped him up and picked up his skateboard.

"Sorry for hitting ya. Lost control of my board," he said with a chuckle.

She offered a smile while offering his skateboard Sally. "It's fine. It happens to the best of us, right?"

He hopped back on Sally and replied, "Totally… Hey, wanna see me do a stunt I've been working on for a couple weeks? It'd be cool if you could get it on camera so I could relive the moment."

"As long as you don't run me over again, I'll do it."

He chuckled. "You've got it, bra."

* * *

Jude brought Sydni with him to the second floor escalator, where a large crowd of kids and preteens gathered to watch him, some of them chanting, "Zamboni Dude rules!"

_Looks like someone has a fanbase_ , Sydni laughed to herself as she readied her phone to record him.

He explained how he was going to grind the escalator railing into an Ollie and three-hundred sixty degree spin, not like she exactly understood any of what he was saying. When he started the trick, he did fine as he gained speed going down the railing, but in the middle of performing his Ollie, he crashed-landed into a potted fern (or maybe it was a ficus).

Though it was better for it to be a plant rather than her face and upper body this time, she couldn't help cringing before putting her phone away and going down the escalator to help him out again.

While the crowd of kids laughed—Jude even laughing at himself, despite wanting to pull off the trick—Sydni asked if he was okay. "…I know you really wanted to nail that stunt."

"It's okay. Stuff happens, but I'll get it right next time."

"Definitely." If there was one thing she noticed about Jude thus far, it was that he was hopeful, but never cocky (and that he faintly smelled like brownies).

"So, did ya get any ideas for your blog yet?"

She looked down at the floor. "Not yet."

"Cheer up, bra. Something good'll come eventually."

She nodded, hoping his words would ring true, not as quite as strong as his hope.

That's where their differences remained.

He was unlike her. Always confident.


	2. Hanging on the Telephone

Sydni sprawled onto her bed with her laptop in front of her, revising what few words she  _had_  written and shown to the gang earlier. This had proven to be an interesting process thus far, for lack of a better word, the better word being  _unproductive_.

She looked at the time in the corner of her screen. Midnight. Nothing had been published on her tumblr yet either. The only thing she had to look at was the blog name she began to loathe.

 _Mall Talk_.

It was mocking (and quite cheesy after a while).

Not particularly discouraged—but not empowered either—she looked at her phone to check for any missed texts or calls from her friends back home, since she had been online for hours. There were none, so she watched the video she filmed of Jude falling down the escalator instead.

She giggled as she watched him fall. It was funnier knowing that he was okay in the end anyway. Stupid stunts always got her and her friends to laugh. Then again, stupid stunts got  _a lot_  of people to laugh. The stunts-gone-awry videos online of such things were typically the ones that went viral, and those kinds of gifs and videos on tumblr had heaps of notes attached.

She glanced at her phone, which had the video of Jude's failed stunt paused, and at her laptop screen, now full of various gifs and Vines and videos she reblogged on her personal blog.

The internet was about to have one more stupid stunt video on its hands.

* * *

It was midnight, which meant that Nikki was wide awake and phoning Jonesy. She sat on the edge of the bed she didn't feel like making up that morning, waiting for him to answer her call.  _Pick up, Jonesy. I'm getting bored_ , she thought, as if he was a mind reader. Her eyes darted from her nightstand, to the slightly tattered map of the world on her eggplant purple wall, and finally to her bare, pale feet until he picked up.

"Hey, babe."

She grinned as soon as she heard his voice and his television in the background.

"Hey, Jonesy. What's up?"

"Nothing much. Got fired today."

Falling back onto her bed, she asked, "Isn't  _that_  a shock?" She stared blankly at the ceiling. "Where'd you even work today?"

"The mattress store. The manager fired me when he caught me sleeping on this really expensive one with my running shoes on. I probably wouldn't have gotten canned if I didn't get dirt all over it."

She snorted in the midst of her laughter. "Oh,  _please_! You still would've gotten fired!"

"Okay, so… yeah, but I had a good reason. I was dreaming about you."

Her cheeks flushed red, and she became suddenly grateful he couldn't see her through the phone. He probably pictured such a reaction in his head, because, knowing him, making her blush was his intention. She said, "You're the biggest damn flirt, Jonesy."

His voice lowered, the biggest indicator that he was serious. "No, I seriously  _dreamt_  about you."

A smirk tugged at her lips. "Alright then, what was I doing in said dream?"

He paused. "You know— _girlfriend stuff_."

Her eyes rolled. "So  _g_ _irlfriend stuff_  is code for sucking face, I see."

She heard him chuckle and could picture the naughty smile on his face. That charming, naughty smile. "See, we're on the same page here."

She bit her lip, stopping shortly afterward. "What if I did some  _girlfriend stuff_  with you tomorrow?"

Jonesy quickly sat upright on his bed, hoping she was serious. "For real?"

"No, dummy." She found it fun teasing him every(day) now and then.

He figured it was too good to be true, but the thought was nice. "If only we could do it right now."

"You wish." A grin appeared on her face and she sighed into the phone. Her voice softer and her mind on autopilot, she said, "And  _I_  kinda wish you were here right now." Quickly realizing she poured more of her heart into her words than intended, she backtracked to sound more neutral. "I'm just getting really bored, that's all."

He smiled much more innocently, feeling the same as she. "Same… So how was your day?"

"Eh, could've been better, but—"

She heard footsteps.  _Shit_ , she thought,  _Who's_ _up_ _?_

Jonesy remained on the line, asking, "Hellooo? Nik, you there?"

The footsteps became more audible, and knuckles rapped on her door. "Nikki? Are you okay? Are you still up? Who are you talking to? Nikki?" her mother's shrill voice asked. Her mother was the queen of asking a million questions in one breath.

Because of both Jonesy and her mother right now, she didn't want to hear nor answer another question again.

Nikki held her cell phone low and responded in the most respectful voice. "Yes, mother, I'm still up! It's just me, and I'm fine!" Pressing the phone to her ear, she spoke in a hushed manner. "Jonesy, I gotta go. My mom just woke up."

"Okay." He ended their phone conversations as he always did. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

Her phone's screen read  _Call ended_.

She clutched the phone to her chest, overcome with crazy but happy feelings. These mixed emotions. Every time they talked on the phone this late, she could have sworn he was in the room with her, connecting with and completely understanding her as if he knew her every thought and action.

Too bad tonight's conversation was too brief for that to fully happen. But maybe it was for the best, because she probably would have divulged more than she should have, more than already she did when she wished he was there. If she could, she would bottle up these moments between them. She'd keep these conversations to herself just for a little while longer. Just so these secret conversations wouldn't be taken away so soon, staying between them for a little while longer.

 _Oh my God,_ _I'_ _ve become Caitlin_.

Even six months (more like  _eons_ ) into the relationship, he turned her brain into putty and stole her heart from her chest. But she found satisfaction and relief in knowing she'd stolen his, too.

Before she could think about him further, her mom again asked, "Nikki? Are you okay?"

 _A_ _nd there goes my peace and quiet._  "Mother, I'm  _fine_!"

* * *

Caitlin twirled throughout her room and walk-in closet at this late hour, carefully coordinating ensembles for the week. Her monthiversary, the celebration of her and Benj dating for one month, was around the corner—just a week away—and she wondered what he was planning for them.

Maybe it'd be a romantic picnic for two with croissants, sparkling cider, and chocolate-covered strawberries. Her cheeks flushed at the thought of him possibly kissing the chocolate off her lips. In her eyes, it was so risqué yet  _so_  romantic.

Perhaps they'd go on a tour-for-two through the planetarium where they could be enchanted by projections of the stars and heavens alike. She always found herself breathless and captivated by stars, especially when she saw clusters of them. Benj wouldn't have to be as awestruck as she'd be. Just the idea of him standing alongside her as she marveled at them would be enough.

Maybe they'd even spend a day by the lake, kissing under that tree she'd told him about, where she had received her first kiss (since her move from Vancouver) from that really cute sophomore guy. Benj could help her relive the "magic," as she described it, that she'd felt that day. (Because  _he_  was magic.)

She hoped so hard that she wasn't getting her hopes up for nothing, but Benj wasn't the kind of guy to let her down. He knew she spent some of her time in reality and the rest of it on Cloud Nine. The most important part, however, was that he  _understood_  her love for idealistic things. He never once made her feel bad for it.

If anything, he would soar into the clouds with her.

* * *

"How about we play a round of  _Call of Duty_?  _If_  you feel like going down," Jonesy said as Jude opened up the game shop the first thing next morning (since it was either that or going to the ice skating rink). Jonesy had tagged along with him so he wouldn't be bored  _and_  jobless for the day.

Jude walked into the shop, ready to get inside his gaming element. "Game on, dude."

An endless amount of button-mashing and controller-gripping later, Jude fell into a conversational mood.

"So how's stuff with you and lil purple going?" Jude asked, "purple" being Nikki. (He had a thing for referring to his friends by their hair colors lately.) He knew they had their little dispute at the roller skating rink about a week ago and made up, being fine since then, but it didn't hurt to know how his "best bro" was doing.

Jonesy typically didn't want to get too into his feelings, even around Jude, but just this once he let go. He grinned, thinking of the conversations he and Nikki shared in previous nights, thinking of how she spoke with such ease every time. "We're just fine. More than that, actually.  _Way_  more than that."

Jude paused their game to sniff the air. "I can kinda tell. You totally smell like those fartomones when you talk about her. 'Cause you're really into her."

"Yeah, I  _know_  that… I was kinda on the phone with her last night."

"Ooh, sounds like purple's got ya hooked." He chuckled before singing, "Purple and Blue, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

Jonesy blushed, quickly changing the topic. "Okay, is this  _COD_  or a slumber party?"

Jude smiled, not aware of his embarrassment. "It's  _COD_  with a heart-to-heart conversation, bro."

"Let's just make it  _COD_."

He shrugged. "Okay."

Minutes later, Jonesy looked over his shoulder, startled to find that many preteens and teens—some barely into adolescence—had entered the game store and swarmed around the couch he and Jude sat on. Uneasily, he said, "Dude, I think your cult wants you."

Jude paused the game, unfazed. "'Sup, mini-dudes."

One of the many kids said, "You totally wiped out yesterday, Zamboni dude."

"Yeah," another one holding a skateboard added. "Such an epic fail from such an epic guy."

"I think you ate the floor, man!" said another.

A few others pointed at Jude and broke out in laughter, all agreeing that his fall from the escalator was "instant replay-worthy." After having their fun, the kids left the store and went about their business. Some, though few, stuck around just to get some more laughs in, however.

"What was that all about?" Jonesy asked.

Jude, shrugging, said, "I dunno."

 _There weren't_ that _many people watching m_ _y stunt_ _yesterday,_  he thought.

* * *

"I woke up this morning and, out of nowhere, I had a giant forehead zit."

While on the phone with Nikki, since Coach Halder was nowhere in sight, Jen had been telling her about the crappy day she was having. Because everything was crappy right now.  _Everything._

She self-consciously looked into her phone's screen as Nikki spoke, or rather yawned.

"Jen"—she yawned again—"A zit is not the end of the world. You'll live."

She was going to reply that it  _was_  the end of the world since she had to keep Nick from seeing her like this, but instead took note of how Nikki sounded on the other line.

"Tired?"

"Ugh, yes."

"Maybe  _someone_  stayed up late talking to her boyfriend."

Nikki's voice suddenly sounded less dead. "You know?"

She hadn't slept after having to hang up on Jonesy, so when she was sure her parents were asleep, she called him again, only to find that he couldn't sleep either. (That midnight conversation was much too brief for both of them, at least in comparison with their other ones.) She later learned that conversations at three o'clock in the morning were entertaining but tiring when having to work the next day.

But the last thing she wanted was for her friends to know.

"Of course I do. My room is  _across the hall_  from his. And he's noisy."

Nikki exhaled. "I wanted this to be a secret, but just keep this between us. I don't want the others hearing about this."

Jen, though wondering why Nikki wanted it to be a secret, agreed to keep quiet about it, then heard something that made her eyes widen:

"Masterson!"

She quickly hung up her phone and acted casual. For the sake of her job, her idea of casual was pretending to do work.

Coach made his way toward Jen and again shouted, "Masterson!" He crossed his arms in his frequently intimidating manner. "I need you to put everything in these boxes onto those shelves up there," he commanded, pointing to a high shelf.

"But Coach, can't you get someone taller to do it? I'm  _sure_  Crusher can."

"Nonsense, Masterson! That's what ladders are for! Stop beating around the bush!"

One of the most important things Coach Halder lacked was an inside voice. He abused exclamations to no end. Seriously.

"Yes, Coach."

"That's what I like to hear! Get on it, Masterson!"

_Seriously._

She grabbed a ladder like she was told and began to organize rows of merchandise on the shelves. As soon as she finished her stacking and climbed off the ladder, she caught Nick looking her way, smiling. The way he looked at her made her feel at ease lately. He made her throw away thoughts of wanting to avoid him only moments before.

With Coach Halder out of sight again, she approached Nick, now wanting to see him up close.

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. He wrapped his arm around her waist, but made a (perplexed? curious?) face.

"Is there something wrong?" The horrors of her blemish flooded back.  _Is my zit really that big?_ _God, what if he_ _wants_ _to write a long poem about how ugly my face is_ _right now_ _?_

"Um, I think your skirt's ripped," he said.

She quickly pulled away from him and flushed.  _I_ knew _it_ _felt t_ _oo tight when I put it on_ _this morning._ _Aw, crap_. Giggling awkwardly, she said, "Excuse me for a moment."

She was very close to her lunch break, making it all the better to get help with fixing her skirt and feel mortified about her boyfriend's discovery. Caitlin could help her with both those things, sewing her skirt back together (she knew Caitlin always carried emergency thread in her purse) and helping her recover from Nick discovering her ripped skirt— _which meant he was_ _kinda_ _touching_ _my_ _thigh_ , she thought after the fact.  _Oh my God, I have_ got _to tell Caitlin._

A little boy talk never hurt.

* * *

Sydni's day became a little better when she saw her blog statistics rise a little more. Her blog wasn't wildly popular yet (because these things were never overnight jobs), but Jude's stunt-gone-wrong did do it some justice.

 _Mall Talk_  still appeared as an ugly title to her, but that would be easy to change. Increasing her follower count would be more of a challenge. She could free-write if she wanted to, she supposed, but after seeing the rippling effects of the post on Jude, maybe having a subject would be better. A walk through the mall was almost a subject within itself. (Though the mall would appear as a fairly average place to any outsider, she quickly learned with her new friends that not  _everything_  was.)

Out the corner of her eye, she noticed someone in a familiar-looking referee jersey speeding through this wing of the mall. Taking a closer look, it was definitely Jen, her reddish-brown hair making her all the more identifiable. Whatever was going on with her looked interesting enough to note.

The first instinct Sydni had was to take a photo of her with her phone. Because it hadn't failed her thus far. So she did—she took a photo of Jen just to be safe.

Nothing had really failed her yet. And she didn't want anything to, because if she did, she'd feel like she was failing someone else in this bigger picture. Because there  _was_ someone else.

* * *

Jen dragged her feet against the mall's tiled floor, ready for this day to be over before it could really begin. Yesterday was more blissful for her compared to today. She couldn't even go around without being called  _zit chick_  or without someone wondering how much of a chance they had at seeing her underwear through her skirt. What _creeps_ _._

She finally got to her friends' table in the food court to find everyone, save for Sydni, there. As soon as she sat down, she, with her hood covering her head, slammed her head against the table.

Nikki, unfazed by Jen's action, asked, "What's your problem?"

She slowly lifted her head up and pulled her hood away, concealer (courtesy of Caitlin yesterday afternoon) covering her forehead pimple. "I've been laughed at  _all day_  for my  _monster zit_  and  _ripped skirt_."

"All day? But it's not even noon yet," said Wyatt.

Jen threw her arms in the air. "That's the point!"

Before any other comment could be made, Caitlin wanted to set the record straight about this gossip floating around the mall, since Jen  _did_  speak to her last about the situation. "FYI, I did  _not_  tell anyone about this. Promise." But that led her to another thought: "How did this even get around?"

"I have no clue. I just want it to stop." She slammed her head against the tabletop again.

"Trying to get a concussion there, Jen?" Nikki asked, to which Jen responded with a muffled, "Not the time, Nikki."

She groaned. "Nick mentioned something about something he saw online and now he doesn't look like he wants to be  _seen_  with me. Can I be in a coma until high school's over?"

Jonesy laughed hard. "I don't blame him, zit face."

Jen fought the urge to throw something at her stepbrother while the others gave him the evil eye. Nikki went the extra mile and slapped him on the arm, causing him to wince.

Ignoring Jonesy, Caitlin said, "Jen, I'm sure you're just paranoid. Nick  _really_  likes you, right?"

"I guess."

"Then you're fine. This stuff will totally blow over. It's not like it's newsworthy."

She lifted her head off the table again. "But what do I do until then? Who do you know around here with a really popular blog?"

Without hesitating, Caitlin replied, "Sierra. Tons of people at our school and stuff follow her."

"Do you know where I could find her?"

"Probably in Things That Beep. You know she's  _always_  looking for Cody."

 _Caitlin's definitely resourceful_. "Thanks, Cait. I'm gonna go look for her."

Just as Jen left, Cody stood up after crouching inside the Lemon for so long.

"Thanks for letting me hide here, Caitlin. I needed to get away from that psycho!"

"No problem."

* * *

Just as Jen entered Things That Beep, she surely enough spotted Sierra, who was in the middle of asking an employee where "Codylicious" was. Once the employee walked away, looking pretty thankful to be doing so, Jen took her chance.

"Hi, Jen!" Sierra cheered. She was never devoid of pep (just like someone else Jen knew).

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about an article written about me—I don't know—being totally crazy-looking, do you?"

"I haven't read it, no, but I heard about it from some of my friends. I only use my blogging powers for the greater good."

Jen cringed a little bit.  _Everybody knows by now. "_ _Blow over," my_ _a_ _—_

"Do you know whose blog it's on?"

She shook her head. "I haven't seen the actual article. I only know what I've heard from others. But I can let you know if I find anything."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks anyways," she said, a little down.

"No problem." Sierra offered a smile before leaving the store while calling, "Oh, Codylicious!"

Under her breath, Jen muttered, "Well that's just great."


	3. Deservedly So

_I need this_ _so bad_ , Wyatt thought as he stood in the line at Grind Me, breathing the aroma of freshly brewed coffee in and out, breathing in his element. He was only a couple places in line away from ordering his cappuccino. If he didn't get this, then he'd probably be half-dead for the rest of the day.

Upon hearing a familiar voice, he became more alive than he'd previously been.

_It can't be—_

He turned around and, two places behind him, Marlowe was there talking to Connie, her best friend and the drummer in their band.

She caught sight of him and a smile worked its way onto her face. "Hey, Wyatt."

He couldn't help smiling either. Smiling at least made things appear less awkward. "Marlowe, hi."

Connie, caught in this gunfire of  _hi_ 's,  _hey_ 's, and  _hello_ 's, slowly said, "I'll be outside waiting for you." She peered at Wyatt the same way she did when he'd first tried to get together with Marlowe. "Later."

His smile turned sheepish. "Bye, Connie."

Once they were both able to buy their coffees—Wyatt's being something along the lines of "sweet relief"—Marlowe spoke to him.

"Sorry about Connie." With a friendly smile and apologetic eyes, she said, "You know how she is. Always outspoken."

"Yeah, I know. No need to apologize."

With Connie looking into the shop and looking out for Marlowe (and observing this heading-nowhere-fast conversation), this situation became too uncomfortable for Wyatt's tastes. He and Marlowe had no doubt ran into each other inside and outside the mall post-breakup, yet there was something suggesting the terms of their breakup hadn't exactly come through.

Best of exes? Not quite.

Awkward public acquaintances? Oh God, yes.

* * *

_Isn't_ _that_ _Wyatt's ex-girlfriend?_

Sydni had walked into Grind Me a few minutes ago wanting a nice cup of green tea to drink while going about her business. As soon as she had been ready to get in line, however, she had noticed Wyatt and Marlowe striking up a conversation.

She remembered seeing her face once before and that Caitlin had told her "the cute and kinda sad story about Marlowe and Wyatt." From what she had been told, they were in a band when Wyatt began liking her and he asked her out before the winter dance. Sadly, they had broken up and now their band was placed on a hiatus.

Knowing this, it was rather interesting to see two people bonding— _Are_ _they bonding?_  she thought at one point—over coffee.

Upon the realization, part of her shouted,  _That's it! Just a couple of exes conversing over coffee._ _That'd be something nice to write about._

However, the part of her that wasn't shouting simply looked on at the two of them. Wyatt and Marlowe, the two of them seemed at peace. She couldn't help but wonder what they were actually talking about. The most important of all her silent inquiries, however, was when she wondered if all exes could maintain such friendly conversation.

 _If only,_  she thought.  _If only._

* * *

Caitlin sighed.  _He's just so dreamy,_  she thought, still stuck on Benj. She was stuck on their monthiversary. She was stuck on the idea of  _them_ , refusing to let her mind wander away from the topic. At least not for a few more minutes. Maybe he would be more than just  _the one_ , more than a title she gave to long-gone guys who had stolen her heart. Benj was once a long-gone guy, but now he was here again and she couldn't be happier.

"Miss," she heard someone say.

She fell from cloud nine, finding herself back in the sad reality of making lemon drinks for mall shoppers. Sour lemons paled in comparison with such a sweet guy.

"Miss," the customer said again. "Are you okay?"

Caitlin nodded rapidly. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

The customer in front of her pointed to her skirt which had a lemon squishy spilled all over it. She looked down and immediately got goosebumps on her legs, the cold drink saturating her apron and skirt.

"Oh no!" She tossed her apron aside and closed the lemon right in front of the customer. "I promise I'll make you another squishy when I get back, but this is an  _emergency_."

"B-but—" the customer stammered, but she was long gone. While he waited, he sighed. "Oh boy."

Meanwhile, Caitlin ran and ran and ran as fast as she could to the restroom, Benj being the farthest thing in her mind now. One thing was for sure: she would  _not_  let this turn into another Grind-Me-bathroom-incident story. Getting her skirt wet while with a guy she wanted to go to winter formal with had been such a scarring memory.

Still running, Caitlin began to think that the washrooms were always farther away whenever a situation was urgent, never there when she truly needed them.

* * *

Finishing off her cup of green tea— _God, those baristas make some good tea_ —Sydni had to go to the bathroom. Walking in the direction of the washrooms, she couldn't help but spot Caitlin rushing there as well... with something that looked like pee on her skirt.

The first thing that came to mind was,  _This might be a stretch. Besides,_ _everybody's got embarrassing moments_.

Her eyes widened. If she could list all her own embarrassing moments, it would take a few hours.

But another voice, out of instinct, told her she had something to prove and the urge to prove it reigned supreme. She put on a brave face and took a deep breath, taking the photo of Caitlin. Pushing her guilt aside. Pushing her anxieties away. She reminded herself that this was for the sake of writing things people found entertaining, even if it was about a friend. Another deep breath.

It wouldn't be hard to blur Caitlin's face out in an image editor. It wouldn't be that bad.

Swallowing hard, Sydni asked herself, "She'll laugh about it eventually... Right?"

* * *

Every day was a closer step towards that special day with Benj.

Caitlin was the kind of girl who planned and acted on what mattered to her from the start. She made dream boards with pictures of the most amazing fashion and her favorite designers—Moschino, Elie Saab, and Zuhair Murad to name a few. She kept a diary filled with details about prom, her future wedding dress (Vera Wang), and the guy of her fantasies. She had everything that mattered planned out.

Including her outfit for this date.

As she twirled around on the way to Albatross and Finch, she couldn't help but picture the look on his face when he saw her in the outfit she planned.

But as soon as she walked into the store for real, Benj's expression was far from what she pictured at all. In fact, he only met her gaze for a split second. He didn't look hateful or anything along those lines, but rather like he wasn't feeling too well.

She offered him a smile anyway.  _Maybe he's just having a bad day or something_.

Looking through the racks of clothing, she finally came across the blouse and skirt she truly wanted. Beyond elated that the store had everything she'd bookmarked online, she skipped to the register.

That one employee, Jill, gave her a disparaging look. She even chuckled right in her face.

Caitlin, confused, asked, "What's wrong?"

"You can't buy this."

Now she was even more lost. This was the outfit she'd been saving her money for. "Why not?"

Jill's smile was condescending. "Because we can't have you on blogs as the girl with the piss stain  _and_  representing Albatross and Finch. It's just not right."

Caitlin stood there in shock, trying to figure out what hurt more: whether she was "the girl with the piss stain" or not right for shopping at Albatross and Finch. Her chest felt heavy, and she shook her head. "This  _can't_  be right. May I speak to a manager?"

"You're looking at her," Jill said, her green eyes piercing Caitlin's. "My recent promotion is beautiful, isn't it?"

Caitlin turned around, looking to Benj for backup—looking for him to defend her. But he only looked away, causing her eyes to flood with tears. The clothes she wanted, now thrown on the counter, were the least of her concern.

She ran out the store with mascara and tears running down her cheeks.

He didn't help he when he needed her, and  _that_  hurt more than everything Jill said.

* * *

Caitlin ran through the food court, in search of the people she trusted the most.

The one thing that went right today was that all seven of those people were sitting at their table, but she couldn't even bear to grin at them.

Instead, she sat in the seat closest to Jen and let the mascara-filled tears drip onto the table, tiny puddles forming on it.

"Caitlin, what happened?" Jen asked in a concerned tone.

She continued to sob, bringing her palms to her eyes. "Everything happened. Everything that could possibly go wrong."

"Like what?" Wyatt asked.

"I-I was g-going shopping for my monthiversary at Albatross and Finch a-and I couldn't buy my outfit because that mean manager Jill said they can't have"—she began sobbing harder—"'the girl with the piss stain' representing their brand!"

"But, Caitlin, didn't you win their fashion competition?" he asked.

She almost forgot that, and being reminded of it made her hyperventilate more. After Jen gave her a soft pat on the back, Caitlin wiped falling tears away from her cheeks. "But that wasn't the worst part. I looked at Benj to help me, but all he did was look away." With each following word, she sobbed harder, her words more difficult to manage. "He didn't even  _care_!"

"Wow. Sorry to hear that, Cait," Jude said.

She wanted to smile at his words, at the mere fact he offered an apology. She wanted to smile at  _something_.

Jen's brow furrowed. "Wait, how did Jill know that wet skirt thing happened? That was yesterday."

Her words were no longer cluttered by distracting sobs. "She mentioned it was on some blog."

Sydni's insides froze, despite the pit of her stomach boiling.  _Oh shit_ , she thought.

Wyatt threw something else into the conversation. "That's funny, because James," he said, referring to his band's keyboardist, "asked me if I was getting back with Marlowe. He saw it on someone's blog earlier too."

She was nothing but frozen guilt. If one were to throw her at the ground, she would shatter into pieces. And it was deservedly so.  _Shit, shit, shit._

Between Wyatt's perplexed expression, Caitlin's weepy self resting on Jen's shoulder, and the flicker of frustration in Nikki's eyes (maybe directed at her, since the puzzle pieces probably connected), she realized that the truth had to be told. Not published online. Not told in fragments by people around the mall. Even if it risked her friends hating her. (Deservedly so.)

Her voice was higher than a whisper, yet somewhat hushed. "I did it."

"What?" everyone else asked.

"I posted all those things: Jude's stunt, Jen's zit, Wyatt and Marlowe at Grind Me,"—she especially felt terrible after seeing Caitlin's reaction and knowing it couldn't be laughed off—"and Caitlin's wet skirt."

Nikki's nostrils flared. Wyatt still looked perplexed. Jen pursed her lip. Jonesy just sat still, completely unfazed. Jude looked slightly disappointed. Caitlin had stopped crying, but her eyes were gleamy.

Caitlin, in a hushed tone, was the first to ask, "Why?"

"Because..."  _I wanted to prove a point_ , was the first thought to enter her mind.  _I wanted her to see me for once_. "The followers and the blog stats. People liked my work and"—this was part of the truth—"it felt good. But knowing that I let it get the best of me, knowing that it hurt you... I am beyond sorry." No one had spoken, so she further explained herself. "I really wanted to get into writing and I guess I took the advice you guys gave me a little too far."

"Well," Caitlin said, "I did kinda tell you about Jen's zit and skirt thing."

Jen gasped. "I thought you didn't tell anyone about it!"

Caitlin's smile was timid, and she giggled innocently. "I didn't tell anyone outside the group. And I kinda forgot I told her in the first place."

Wyatt let out an  _ahem_.

"And I told her about you and Marlowe."

Nikki stared right through Caitlin.

Caitlin maintained her timid smile. "With someone new in the group, I just wanted to get them up to speed."

Sydni hadn't heard anyone accept her apology yet, so she figured they weren't going to. (Deservedly so.) She just hung her head low and came to terms with it.

Caitlin's eyes focused on Sydni now, but she wasn't glaring. Her facial expression had softened, looking like a little green-eyed Bambi, the nickname Nikki would probably never call her anymore during long days at the Khaki Barn.

"I forgive you," she said.

"Same here, bra," Jude said.

Wyatt and Jen followed suit, but Jen added, "Just be sure not to do something like that again, okay?"

"Definitely."

And she made sure of that by deleting those posts off her blog and making sure she could take down as much as possible. She kept a note of not screwing up again, even with those nagging thoughts of letting someone down. Even if it was difficult living with the one she'd be letting down.


	4. Repetition Kills You

Sydni never got that many messages in her tumblr inbox  _ever_.

Even if, days after the Caitlin fiasco, they were all in regards to where her blog content had gone. But those who actually followed her were  _curious_ , curious if she was even going to write again.

Which was something what she wanted to do. She wanted to captivate people not with just her headlines and whatever video or photo she attached, but her words too. She wanted to prove that she had the  _power_  to do all that. She wanted so much of the simplest things.

With her follower count (which had slowly increased over the past week) and her determination, she thought about the benefits and the drawbacks. And the more she thought about it, there was a lot of good to be found and too little bad.

Maybe she'd try again. There was no harm in that.

* * *

"It's Jonesy. Open up."

Having strolled through the mall—it was around seven-thirty on a Thursday, so not many customers were around—Jonesy had initially passed the Khaki Barn, but he doubled back when he heard faint music playing in the store, despite it being closed. He knew it couldn't be the Clones in there.  _They_  didn't play music. (He would know, since he'd been in there more than enough after hours.)

Moments later, part of the store's screen opened and Sydni poked her head through. "Hi there."

"Could you do me a favor and let me in?"

Sydni smirked. "Hmm…Why should I?"

He tilted his head to the side. "'Cause I'm a friend."

"How  _good_  of a friend?"

He narrowed his eyes.

Her smile widened as she acted less mischievous. "I'm kidding… I think."

(It certainly wasn't hard for her to get on antagonistic-esque terms with him. It was in his nature to bring out his friends' more combative sides.)

He walked into the store, asking, "Know where Nikki is?"

She pointed in the direction of the dressing stalls. "She's in one of those."

"'Kay, thanks."

She nodded her head.

It didn't take Jonesy a long time to figure out which stall Nikki was hiding in. She was always in the one to the far left.  _Always_. It was her safe haven.

He knocked on the door, only for it to swing open because she forgot to put the lock on it.

As soon as he set foot into the tiny space, he found her sitting in the corner reading a book. Normally, he'd ask what she was reading, but, her eyes wide, she was obviously startled by him. She quickly put her book aside and stood up.

"I didn't know you'd be dropping by."

He smirked. "Well, here I am—in the flesh."

She rolled her eyes playfully.  _What a goof,_  she thought. Moving towards the door, now that she remembered to actually lock it, she asked, "So why are you  _really_  here?"

"What? A guy can't visit his girlfriend out of the blue?"

She cocked an eyebrow.

" _Okay_. I just wanted to talk."

"About what?"

"Anything. I just wanna hang with you, 'cause I didn't really get to today."

She cracked a smile. "Okay, fine."

He stepped closer to her, closer and closer until she was backed against a (literal and figurative) wall. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, then trailed down to her neck.

"Jonesy, I thought you wanted to talk," she said, running her fingers through his hair as his lips lingered on her neck, causing her skin to feel warm and good.

"I wanted to, but then I decided kissing you was better." He pressed his lips on her skin again.

She didn't fight it.

She loved the feel of his breath against her neck, the way it felt against her skin when he  _did_  talk. Sometimes he talked too much and thought too little, but this was certainly not the time nor the place to complain about that. Maybe she would joke about it on the phone later. They talked about any- and everything anyway.

"I liked that conversation we had last night." His breath warmed her neck again, burning her up.

There were so many things he wanted to do with (and to) her since they started talking on the phone at night. So many feelings had been stirred from midnight to three o'clock in the morning. It was ridiculous how much he wanted to kiss her, how constantly he thought about it. How he wanted to act on those thoughts but couldn't.

She resisted the urge to let out a small moan, speaking instead. "I did, too."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Really."

" _Really_?"

"Really—now shut up and make out with me."

He purred. "I like where this is going."

She pressed her lips against his, sending goosebumps across his skin. As they kissed for what felt like an infinite amount of time, those late-night hours of wanting to be trapped in the same space as one another slipped out of existence.

After she gently bit his bottom lip and parted from him, he whispered, "I take that back, I  _love_  where this is going."

"You're such a dummy, but I love it, too. I… I love this. I love whatever we've got going on right now."

Though not sure whether he should have been insulted or delighted at being called stupid—and pretty fascinated that she (of all people) used the word  _love_  that many times in a sentence—he whispered back, "I love you and I more."

He recalled telling her something along those lines during one of their phone conversations, telling her that he always wanted her to be his. As he pulled her closer—pulled her body closer and wrapped his arms around it, moved her face closer and kissed her on her open mouth—and pushed the world away, that's all it became.  _Them_.

"When you use it like that, it becomes  _you and me_."

(Grammatical errors never went unnoticed—it was the story of an aspiring travel writer's life.)

"Close enough."

Just when he couldn't be any happier, she jumped onto him and he caught her, wrapping her legs around his waist and throwing her arms over his shoulders. "Is this the  _girlfriend stuff_  I was doing in that dream of yours?"

He kissed her lips hard, shouting  _YES!_  in his head.

Meanwhile, Sydni paced back and forth. She wanted to make up with her confused followers. She wanted to prove her skill as a writer. She wanted a story to tell. She wanted to move past her idling worries. But how? What would she write?

She ran a hand through her hair and turned her music down a little bit. She only ever turned music down (or off) to get a grip on her thoughts, and it was now time to put a reign on them and herself. Upon turning down her music and in the midst of her thinking—scrambling to put words and interesting topics together—she faintly heard kissing and a moan or two.

 _Don't you dare_ , the sane voice in her mind told her. Like a "friendly reminder" of sorts, the flicker of frustration in Nikki's eyes from the other day, when Caitlin had been upset, played like a short film.

The side of her that wanted to strive so much—the too-obstinate part of herself she sometimes longed to get rid of—told her that "everyone loves a little bit of romance in their gossip."

Even though her moral compass was telling her to not go through with her plans, she found herself kicking it to the side and (not entirely) wanting to write what she knew. She kicked it in favor of writing what she knew others would be into. So she walked as lightly as she could, careful not to let Jonesy and Nikki hear her.

She looked in the crack of the stall and saw Nikki wrapped around Jonesy. The image of her frustrated eyes invaded Sydni's head again, but she brushed it off. She took a couple pictures through the crack of the stall and ran back to the cash register, pretending nothing happened.

Making pretend.

_My moral compass is going to kick my ass._

* * *

The snickers and the points at Nikki had been incessant the next day at the mall, and it was annoying. She had never flipped so many people off  _ever_  until today. Walking through the mall in the summertime  _already_  meant walking among hormonal teenage dragons and adults with too much free time, but now that was multiplied by infinity.

As she walked, greeted by snickering and snorts that weren't uniquely hers, she rolled her eyes.  _So this is what I have to look forward to all day._ _Wow_ , she thought. Just when she couldn't be more annoyed, a certain clique of girls walked by.

"Hey, Nikki. Caught a case of mono lately?" Mandy asked, mockingly smacking her lips.

She raised an eyebrow. " _Excuse_  me?"

Tricia and her friends merely laughed at her confusion.

"Okay, Tricia, what's up?" She crossed her arms while Tricia played a game of naivety.

"Oh, nothing much. Nothing's up but the sky," she said, and under her breath she continued, "and the internet."

 _What's that supposed to mean?_  Nikki asked, "Is it your job to start unnecessary shit?"

Tricia smirked in amusement. "I dunno. I'm still deciding. It's fun being morally ambiguous, isn't it?"

"I didn't think you knew the meaning of the word."

"There's a lot you don't know about me, but a lot that I  _do_  know about you," she said as she rounded up her group of friends.

Heather cast a haughty look at Nikki. "Later, Highlighter Head."

Nikki had never flipped anyone off faster.

* * *

Jonesy had received another high-five from another guy applauding his "game," definitely not referring to any hockey games since the season was over. Then again, he had been getting winks and flirty remarks from some pretty girls (whom he hadn't known were snickering behind his back moments later), so maybe it was  _that_  sort of game.

Despite not having the slightest idea why this was happening, it put a pep in his step. So much of a pep that he could have almost skipped his way to the Big Squeeze. He took his seat at his friends' table, some of them giving him curious looks, only some because Sydni wasn't present and Jude was mindlessly on his laptop.

After getting settled in his spot at the table, their stares burned through him.

"What?" he asked.

"What's with the pep in your step?" Jen asked in return.

He shrugged. "I've been getting props all day from people."

Caitlin, handing a lemonade to a customer, asked, "Why?"

"I dunno. Maybe it's just my natural charm. Y'know, there's always been something special about Garcia blood."

"And I bet it's anemia," Jen mumbled.

Nikki came to the table with her fists balled. She hurriedly sat beside Jonesy, wearing a frustrated expression on her face. Before Jen could ask—Nikki already noticed her curious face—she explained, "I've had so many insults and laughs and other bullshit hurled my way today. The next person that says something about me gets a blow to the gut." She raised her fist for emphasis.

While she seethed, Julie walked by the table. "Oh, look—it's you and your boyfriend. It's a shock you're even breathing without him." Even though her braces and clunky headgear got in the way, she managed to blow fake kisses.

Wyatt took a sip of his coffee, calm and collected. "This is gonna get ugly."

Jen nodded. "Very."

Nikki stormed in Julie's direction and snatched her by the collar. "Insult me again and you'll regret it."

"I'm so sorry," she lisped while trembling. "I won't do it again. Please let me go, Nikki."

Before Julie could go, Nikki asked, "So spill: why do you—and everyone else around here—have something to say about me all of a sudden?"

"I s-saw something about you and Jonesy on my dash when I was hanging with Darth. But I swear I don't remember the blog's name."

She didn't recall the blog's name either but offered, "I'm pretty damn sure of who it is."

Letting Julie speed-walk away, Nikki walked to the table, saying, "Jude, let me see your laptop."

He complied and slid it across the table. She typed some things into his internet browser and Sydni's tumblr page eventually came up.

"Well, I'll be damned."

The gang looked at her, interested.

"What is it, Nikki?" Caitlin asked.

Jonesy peeked over her shoulder and saw a couple pictures of their make-out session in the Khaki Barn on the screen. He replied for her, saying, "It's this." He faced the laptop towards the rest of the group so they could see what happened.

Nikki's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Though they've kissed (and borderline made-out) in front of their friends many times before, the thought of the group staring at photos of her and Jonesy making out so wildly made her feel abashed.

On top of all her feelings, Jude's reaction to Jonesy had been, " _Du-u-ude._ "

"What can I say other than the fact that Nikki finds me irresistible? Especially at  _night_."

"You know I can hear you talking through my walls at night," Jen said, expressing her annoyance at Jonesy's "inside" voice. "God, you're so loud. It's a wonder our parents don't hear you."

"At night? Hear what?" Caitlin asked. This was the one thing she  _didn't_  know. At least Wyatt was equally lost.

"Jonesy and Lil Purple flirt on the phone at night," Jude blurted.

Caitlin smiled wide. "Aw, that's adorable."

"Jonesy!" Nikki slapped the back of his head.

"Ow! It's not my fault Jude told. Besides, you told Jen."

"I did  _not_  tell Jen. She found out by herself." She blushed again as she quickly added, "I only confirmed it when she brought it up."

"Well, well, welly-well-well. Looks like I'm not the only one letting things slip."

She looked to the skies above. "Why'd I fall in love with a smartass?"

"Excuse me, but I'm a  _han_ _dsome_  smartass."

She cast him a dark, hellish look before getting back to the subject at hand. "Focus, people. Sydni  _betrayed_  us. For that, someone needs to teach her a lesson."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'us'?" asked Jen.

Nikki scrolled through the blog, showing them that what Sydni had posted about the rest of the gang wasn't permanently deleted.

"Oh my gosh," Jen said.

Caitlin, despite the other day's humiliation returning, said, "Maybe we shouldn't be so harsh. I mean, we've all messed up with one another at some point."

"But we didn't pretend everything was all 'smiles and hearts' when we did. We had to confront each other before we could move on,  _if_  we could move on," Nikki said.

The gang went silent.

"My point exactly."

Jen did want to talk to Sydni over it, but she didn't want to get too mad about it. "What are we going to do? Are we going to yell at her or anything?"

"No, we're going to explain why we're frustrated and have her tell us why she posted that stuff again," Nikki said as calmly as she could.

"Well, I for one have no reason to be mad at her. She didn't post anything mean about me," Jonesy said.

Nikki laughed for the first time in a few tense minutes. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

She highlighted a sentence from the post about the two of them, then turned the laptop toward him.

His eyes scanned the words in her highlight. "'He spends more time focusing on what others can do for him, instead of focusing on his problem of losing a job every day'?" He stood up immediately. "Okay. It's on—let's go find her."

Before Nikki and the rest of the gang could find the time to laugh at how easily he changed his mind, Jonesy was already walking off. Nikki began walking in the opposite direction. "C'mon, this way," she said to the rest of the gang.

Wyatt raised a cautious finger. "But what about—"

"He'll figure it out," Nikki said.

The rest of the gang, shrugging, got up and followed Nikki.

Moments later, Jonesy sprinted after them. "Dudes, wait up!"


	5. Guilty on the Run

"Your blog is really cool! I love it a lot," one of a few teenage girls had told Sydni as she walked by.

"Thanks. That means a lot to me."

And it did, because this was the first time in a while she had done something she wanted to do in the presence (or digital presence) of others. A smile made its way onto her face. She was so happy that she could almost twirl.

"There she is!" she heard in the distance.

Turning around, she saw the gang walking towards her, Nikki ahead of everybody else.

A sharp pang of guilt hit her in the chest, borderline knocking the wind out of her. As they stomped closer, Sydni realized what she had done, adversely affected the gang. Even if she'd had the will to write the words that got her into this mess in the first place, she was at a loss for them now. She didn't even know how to start an apology to them, if they'd even hear her out. (Probably not.) But, then again, she deserved that. Even if her heart wanted to stay put and face the consequences, her mind made her sprint as far away as she could—even though she sucked at any form of running or fast movement in general.

She turned around momentarily, only to find the gang chasing after her. Jen was in front, Jude trailing behind on his skateboard. Caitlin, even in heels, ran swiftly, and Jonesy ran at the same speed. Nikki and Wyatt were more behind than them, but made an effort to keep up.

Though she nearly tripped while trying, she made a sharp right into the Khaki Barn, running into its backroom. For once, she didn't even care whether the customers or lack thereof saw her acting like a madwoman. She needed to buy some time to come up with an apology… or shrivel up in the guilt caused by her stubbornness.

Either way, she'd still be screwed.

As soon as she ran into the backroom, she spotted a semi-empty shelf.  _If I could just climb on that..._  she thought. She shut her eyes tight.  _I just need athletic skill this_ one  _tim_ _e. Please_.

She climbed onto the old couch sitting in front of the television where the Clones or Nikki would review security footage, eventually planting her feet on a shelf below the one she intended to hide on. With voices creeping closer to the store's storage room, she made her last jump for the empty shelf, crouching so she can fit on the whole thing. It didn't feel like it could hold her forever, but hopefully it could last for a few minutes. Just long enough for the gang to relocate for their search.

She heard the door's painful creak and saw many overlapping shadows on the floor. Nikki's voice filled her ears.

"Are you sure you saw her run in here?"

Jen said, "I'm positive."

Peeking over the shelf, she saw the gang walking around, but thankfully they didn't stray underneath where she was hiding.

Her body tensed when she felt a creaking beneath her.  _Oh, shit. Please don't do this—not now_. It took all her might to keep calm, even if the shelf threatened to collapse while she was still on it. It stopped creaking, and she released her breath, feeling calm. Then it broke from the wall and sent her crashing to the floor.

Her eyes widened when the gang spotted her.

"There she is!" Jonesy yelled.

She pushed herself off the floor and ran as fast as she could, ignoring another bruise that would appear among other bumps and scrapes already on her leg. She ran for the next best place to hide—the air vents. Turning around again, she saw the gang just now stumbling out the Khaki Barn, giving her some relief that she finally left them behind. For now, at least.

* * *

While the rest of the gang headed back to their food court table, Nikki pulled Jonesy aside.

"We need to talk."

He groaned. "I know where this is going."

Disregarding his comment, she said, "Listen, I'm kinda frustrated about the whole late-night phone-call thing."

"Why?"

She stared at the ground beneath her. "Because, Jonesy… I thought it was gonna be our secret. Our friends know about almost all the things we do together, and I thought for once we'd—I don't know—have something to ourselves. I wanted to keep it between us." She glanced at him. "I just thought you'd keep it between us, too."

"Oh"—he paused—"my bad." He rubbed the back of his neck. "So does this mean we won't talk on the phone at night anymore, because I  _really_  liked doing that."

She maintained silence, but eventually caved. "Yes, but only because I really liked it, too."

He wrapped an arm around her waist, walking to the table with her. "So, maybe you can do some  _girlfriend stuff_  with me later."

She snorted. "You wish, Jonesy."

* * *

Wyatt, with the article about him and Marlowe on his mind, decided to call her. Hopefully she would be okay with this situation while also finding out where their relationship stood.

The phone rang until he heard her pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Marlowe."

"Hi, Wyatt." As soon as she spoke, her friends in the background—Connie sounding like she was among them—went silent.

"So I was just calling to see if we're okay, y'know, with this whole article about us being back together or something."

"About that, listen, I don't think this is the best moment for us to talk. I'm with my friends and you're probably with yours. And now my friends think you and I are still…"

"Oh," he said, knowing what she meant: her friends thought they were seeing each other again. He held his breath for a few moments, then released it. This was not the Marlowe he used to have such great conversations with, the one he'd talk to his friends about with such amazement and wonder because she had made his heartbeat skip. In hindsight, their chat at Grind Me was less strained than this one.

"I guess we'll talk soon, then. Bye, Wyatt."

"Bye." As soon as he hung up, he slammed his head on the table, groaning.  _Perfect_.

Caitlin's polite voice flooded his ears. "What's wrong?"

"Marlowe's friends think we're back together, and now she doesn't even want to talk to me. Great."

"Aw, sorry to hear that."

He sighed. "It's not your fault."

Nikki took her seat at the table alongside Jonesy, saying, "It isn't any of our faults. It's Sydni's."

He wished Nikki wasn't telling the full truth, that their new friend hadn't been dishonest, but she was right. "I guess some of the blame falls on her. But, then again, Marlowe and I have been getting pretty weird lately, I guess."

Silence fell upon them as quickly as it left; it was broken by Jen. "I can't believe she saw us and just  _avoided us_." She exhaled a breath of frustration. "It's just…"

"Bullshit, that's what it is," Nikki said. "We tried the simple way of going about this, but obviously that didn't work, so the next time we see her, we'll show her what embarrassment feels like."

Save for Jonesy, the rest of the gang looked hesitant to agree, but nodded slowly after letting her words sink in. It was both an initiation ritual of sorts and a punishment.

* * *

Sydni continued crawling through the mall's cramped air vents, coming up with apologies in her head to the gang.

" _Words can't express how sorry I am. Not only did I screw up trying to make a name for myself, I screwed up with the people I care about just to impress my mom." No, no, that doesn't sound right._ _God, n_ _othing sounds right._

Words, while they never naturally came to her, always evaded her when they weren't digital or on paper.

She sighed, resolving to come up with something worthy of hearing later, after she figured out how much longer she should stay in the vent system.

_I_ _completely_ _screwed up, and it's all on me this time. I can't blame it on wanting to_ _be a better writer_ _. I can't blame it on mom. It's me._

She bit her lip. Accepting it didn't make it sting less. She wondered how the gang must've felt. Then she realized she didn't have to wonder, because the frustration was written all over their faces when they found her. When she ran.

 _Every time I think about it, it just gets_ worse _._

Before another swear word could escape her lips, she inhaled sharply and she jolted. A little spider blocked her path.

_Deep breaths, Sydni._ _It's just a_ _n itsy-bitsy_ _—_

A bigger spider started sliding down its web, dangling from the top of the vent.

_SPIDER!_

Her breathing quickened as the spider lowered and made its way towards her. Her eyes widened and she began backing away, slowly at first, then as fast as she could. Going fast, she barely had time to register her foot hitting something different than the vent's metallic bottom until she fell through whatever it was that she'd hit.

She landed flat on her butt but didn't take note of her surroundings, instead reeling from the fall. She groaned as she pushed stray strands of hair away from her face.

"I think I just bruised my ass."

Her vision cleared and her eyes darted around her surroundings. To the right of her was a wall of yellow, and to her left a few chairs and a table. She looked back and jumped in the same manner as when she'd seen the spider in the vent.

Nikki, Jonesy, and Wyatt were behind her.

She looked to her left again, and this time Jen and Jude were beside her. Caitlin stood in front of her.

Sydni let out a nervous giggle. "Um, hi, guys."

Before Caitlin, who was equally nervous about this, could respond, Nikki and Jen grabbed Sydni's wrists. Jonesy and Wyatt had tried grabbing onto her ankles, but Sydni had been kicking around way too much.

"Guys, I'm really sorry," she said as they dragged her away from the food court.

The gang remained silent, although Caitlin's caring eyes met hers. She couldn't fully grasp what Caitlin's look meant. Sydni figured she didn't hate her as badly as the others probably did.

She glanced at Caitlin again. "All of this is my fault. I was being really stupid, and I apologize."

"You should've thought about that before you lied to us again," Nikki said, her voice cold.

"I agree. That stuff was embarrassing," Jen added, although her voice wasn't distant. It was just disappointed.

Sydni turned her head slightly, trying to see where the gang was taking her. She caught a glimpse of the fountain in the atrium, and quickly budged her wrists away from Nikki and Jen. She stumbled to her feet and tried maintaining her balance, close to the fountain now.

Not focusing on how sore her wrists (and the rest of her body) were, she said, "I have no excuses for what I did at all, but please just hear me out—"

"You know, we were going to do just that earlier—hear you out—but you ran. So we decided to take matters into our own hands."

Her eyes searched Nikki's face for something other than distance, even if she couldn't find anything.

"You don't have to hear me out at all, but I just want you to know this: I'm really sorry for what I did. You guys let me into your group and let me be your friend, and I took advantage of that."

The quieter the gang grew, the more she hoped her words would resonate.

Nikki's expression remained unreadable. "Okay, we heard you out, but you still deserve some embarrassment." She smirked mischievously. "Jonesy, now!"

On her command, Jonesy pushed Sydni into the fountain immediately, plunging into its waters.

She heard a muffled surge of laughter, which was seemingly everywhere when she broke through the water's surface. Her palms quickly slicked her hair back, away from her face, so she could see what was going on.

A crowd of people surrounded the fountain and its benches, starting at and laughing at this spectacle: her. The gang, at least Jonesy and Nikki, looked amused.

She tried her best to get out the water and back onto the tile floor, but kept slipping and almost falling back in, paving the way for more laughter.

It wasn't until Caitlin gave her a hand that she made it out of the water, her clothes heavy and saturated and her hair coiling into its natural texture.

She looked around one last time, expecting the crowd to die out. It did, seconds after she got out the water, but some people stayed around to laugh a little longer. She looked at the gang one last time, her eyes gleamy, but she refused to cry. She had no right to be sad over this.

She just didn't want to stay—which is why she ran straight for the mall's exit and didn't look back.


	6. Digital Witnesses

Even while lying on her bed, Sydni's nerves never calmed down. It had been hours since she was pushed into the fountain and the gang was still on her mind. She never meant to hurt or betray them, although, looking back, she did a poor job of trying not to. All because her wants became misplaced.

Maybe it would be best if she didn't leave the house tomorrow. She didn't have a shift at the Khaki Barn anyway, and the gang probably wouldn't want her to stick around. Plus, she had never minded staying home—at least at her old home in Baltimore, which was probably another family's home now.

A rhythmic pattern of knocks on her door broke her room's silence and cut through her mind's loudness.

"Come in, mom."

After opening the door, her mom peeked her head through, her hair thrown into its ever-present messy bun.

"How'd you know it was me?"

A warm smile graced her lips. "You're the only person I know—actually, the only person I've ever met—who knocks like that."

Her mom simply shrugged, then sat on her bed.

"What's wrong?"

She considered asking how her mom could tell something was wrong, but it was no use. Even with all the business her mother attended to, she always knew. Her head hung low, her bangs dipping down.

"I messed up with my friends, if I'm lucky enough to call them that."

A sigh escaped her lips before she explained everything to her mom, or almost everything. She might not have been able to hide her emotions from her mom, but certain details she could do away with.

After confessing to what she had done, Sydni kept her head low, refusing to make eye contact. She knew her mother would be disappointed in her.

"Now, Sydni, why did you go through all that trouble?"

She barely met her mother's eyes. "It started off as me wanting to just  _write_. Then it became a matter of doing it to please other people and… to please you."

Her mother's jaw went slack. "For me?"

She nodded.

"But why?"

"Because… I've always liked writing, ma. I feel it's what I'm good at, and maybe one day I want to pursue it. But you're all about debating and law firms and legal cases and I totally respect that, but I know you don't value journalism and literary things. I wanted to be good enough. I wanted to prove something"—she paused—"but it didn't exactly work out."

Her mother placed her palm on her daughter's chin, ensuring that she would look her in the eyes.

Her brown eyes didn't resemble her mother's hazel ones, but she comprehended the care within them all the same.

"Listen, anything you want to do as a hobby or otherwise is fine. And it's not like I don't value those things. I've just never been quite interested in them, but you— _you_  can do anything you set your mind to and you shouldn't believe otherwise. I love it when I see you become passionate about something. I just don't like seeing it hurt you and these new friends of yours. By the way, when  _am_  I going to meet your new friends?"

She laughed, but not for long. "Soon, mom. If they forgive me."

Because it wasn't her mom that she had to worry about upsetting after all. It was her friends, and over the course of a few days, she had become a bad one.

"Just apologize in the best way you can. You said it yourself: writing's what you feel you're good at."

Before her mom could leave her bedroom, she said, "I love you, mom."

Giving her a tender smile, she replied, "I love you too, Sydni." Her mother left the room, but popped back in moments later. "By the way, I don't think I'll ever be against writing and other forms of journalism. It's too much of that social media that I don't like. What is InstaVine supposed to be anyway?"

She chuckled. "I think that's Instagram you're thinking of."

"I know that. I was just trying to sound like one of those unhip mothers."

"Sure you were."

* * *

After pouring another lemonade for another customer, all Caitlin wanted to do was go on her break, but when she saw a bouquet of baby-blue hydrangeas coming her way, she couldn't help but stay in the Big Squeeze for a few extra minutes. After all, they  _were_  her favorites.

The person carrying the flowers rested them on the Lemon's counter, revealing his face.

"Benj," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She turned away.

"Listen, Caitlin, I'm really sorry about what happened the other day. I shouldn't have just ignored you like that."

He put a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to face him.

"You made me feel like I wasn't wanted."

"I know, but I just want you to know that I  _do_  want you."

She exhaled her frustration and sadness.

He grabbed one of the flowers and handed it to her. "Did I mention that I'm really sorry?"

She grinned as she took it. "I forgive you."

"So, does this mean we're still on for our monthiversary date tonight?"

"Totally! Aw, thank you, Benji-Bear!" she exclaimed as she pulled him into a cuddly embrace.

Even if she didn't have the monthiversary outfit of her dreams, she'd rather have the guy of her dreams alongside her and ready to defend her (like a knight was supposed to defend his princess).

Just as Caitlin kissed him, Jonesy burst out in laughter.

"'Benji-Bear'? You're killing me here!" he said in between his fits.

Nikki snorted. "Yeah, as far as terrible pet names go, that one takes the cake."

Caitlin continued to stare in her boyfriend's eyes, blushing. "Don't listen to them. This is just between you and me."

"You, me, and the rest of us,  _Benji-bear_!" Jonesy shouted, causing the rest of the gang to laugh.

Benj, giving Caitlin a peck on the cheek, said, "I think I should get back to work. See you tonight, Caitlin."

"Bye!" she called as he left. She smiled at her knight, who would later heroically return to take her on a horseback adventure (or at least take her for a car ride).

After taking off her apron and hat, about to take her now less-needed break and take a seat at the table, she heard faint footsteps.

"Hi, guys," Sydni said. Facing the gang, she put on her bravest face, tightly gripping the strap of the messenger bag on her shoulder. "I know you guys probably don't want to see me right now, but I just wanted to say that I..."— _please don't say it, please don't say it_ —"I deserved being thrown into the fountain, and if you guys choose to not speak to me again, then I guess I deserve that too."

The gang was hushed.

She took another deep breath. "I took everything down from my blog and permanently deleted it. I don't have anything left of it. None of the words I wrote, none of the pictures I took—it's all gone. In it's place, I wrote you guys a little something."

She walked closer to the table, placing her bag on it and taking her laptop out. She pulled up the link to the apology on her blog. The last words of it read:  _This is not the last you'll hear from me, but it's certainly the last words of this disaster of a blog—the last words devoted to the people I care about a lot._ _I want to write. I want to be a writer, but if it means driving away the ones who let me in_ _their world_ _, then I_ _won_ _'t_ _do it._

The time the gang spent passing the laptop around and reading her apology felt like eons, but it was worth it. She didn't have to be forgiven, especially if she didn't earn her forgiveness, but she wanted to make amends.

Once Jonesy finished reading it, being the very last one to receive the laptop, Sydni twirled a lock of her hair around. "I want to start a new blog called  _I Swear I'm Sane_  but I don't wanna go through with it until"—she caught herself—" _if_  I get your approval."

Caitlin jumped out her seat and gave Sydni a hug, maybe crushing her bones in the process."I know what it's like to mess up with the group, and it majorly sucks, so I forgive you. And you should  _definitely_  do a new blog."

Jen said, "I forgive you, and, as long as you don't write anything bad about us again, I don't mind you starting a new blog. You're not a bad writer."

"Yeah, you're pretty good at it, and you  _did_  apologize, so I forgive you," Wyatt said.

Jude smiled. "What he said, bra."

"I forgive you," Jonesy said. "Just be sure to give me a bigger word count the next time you write about me, 'kay?"

But Nikki never said a word.

The gang looked at her. Sydni looked in her direction with hopeful eyes, but didn't expect much. She knew Nikki was tough to crack.

She smirked. "I'll forgive you, Bambi, but only if you cover my shifts at the Crappy Barn for a week."

Ecstatic to have earned the title of Bambi again, Sydni smirked in return, laughing a little bit. "I said I was sorry, but I'm not a sucker."

She snorted. "Fine, I  _do_  forgive you, and do whatever makes you happy. If you want to start another blog, it's fine, but don't go too far by writing about us like that again. We all screw up every once in a while anyway, but don't make it a habit like this idiot over here does." She pointed to Jonesy for emphasis.

"Hey!" he shouted.

"She's got a point," Wyatt said, to which all the gang agreed with.

Sydni laughed even harder at Jonesy and his frustration—as did the rest of the gang—leaving him flustered.

"You know what? I'm unforgiving you! How about that?"


End file.
